Adsorption behaviors of shale oil in kerogen slit by molecular simulation

•We study the adsorption behaviors of hydrocarbon mixtures in kerogen slit.•The heterogeneous adsorption behaviors are illustrated by the PMF in mechanism of energy.•The effects of temperature and slit aperture are analyzed.•The medium component is the most potential fraction in thermal exploitation.•The aperture close to heavy molecular size facilitate the maximum adsorption density of hydrocarbons.